John Dudley: Steelers' focus is forward as camp opens

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Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Mike Adams (76) greets a group of youth football players as he goes to practice during NFL football training camp at the team training facility in Latrobe, Pa. on Saturday, July 27, 2013 (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)AP

LATROBE -- Around lunchtime Sunday, as members of the Pittsburgh Steelers were filing out of the cafeteria at Saint Vincent College to get ready for afternoon practice, a call came over a staff member's radio that someone had encountered bees in one of the dorms.

Another staffer was dispatched and, presumably, the bees were dispatched.

That's as close as anyone here has gotten to hitting the panic button as the Steelers open camp on the heels of an 8-8, non-playoff season in 2012.

From head coach Mike Tomlin to veterans like quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and linebacker Lawrence Timmons, there is little interest in discussing what went wrong last season and plenty of quiet optimism despite the loss of starters Mike Wallace and James Harrison.

It remains to be seen whether the Steelers are in denial over what some outsiders have said is the start of a decline owing to age and attrition or simply on the rebound from a down year undone by injuries and underperformance.

We'll begin to get answers on Sept. 8, when the Tennessee Titans visit Heinz Field with a beefed-up defense and game-breaking running back Chris Johnson.

Until then, the clues will come from how the Steelers go about their business over the next five weeks and how some key training battles play out at running back and linebacker.

"The things that we can control are our attitudes, level of readiness and overall condition," Tomlin said. "I will talk a lot about what we are doing here in camp and the development of our team, but I won't do it in reference to what occurred a year ago. It doesn't matter if we were 8-8 or if we won the Super Bowl, it's really irrelevant."

What is relevant is the health of a team that struggled for consistency in 2012, in large part because Roethlisberger dealt with a balky knee for the second straight season and a string of starters missed significant time, including guard David DeCastro, safety Troy Polamalu, running back Rashard Mendenhall and linebacker LaMarr Woodley.

Mendenhall is gone, but the rest are healthy. Roethlisberger says he feels better than he has since the 2010 season and changed up his workout regimen in the offseason in hopes of staying that way.

He also intends to take a more prominent role with so many veteran players having left over the past few years.

"I'm trying to take over," he said. "Instead of just being an offensive leader, trying to be a leader of the team."

After getting swept off the field by a thunderstorm in their first practice Saturday afternoon, the Steelers worked out Sunday under brilliant sunshine before a big crowd that lounged in the bleachers and perched in chairs high on the hills above their practice fields.

The fans, some decked out in brand-new gear from the merchandise tent nearby, talked about a fresh start and, perhaps, an unfamiliar underdog role for a franchise accustomed to wearing the favorite's label.

"Right now we're keeping it simple," Timmons said. "We're developing a foundation now while getting to know the younger guys."

And, almost to a man, they're wearing blinders, said wide receiver Antonio Brown, who will be expected to take a more prominent role in the offense with Wallace's absence.

"We don't dwell on last year," Brown said. "We're here to focus on now and the season this year."